World News - Iraqi President Talabani Arrives in Tehran for Talks With Iranian President

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani arrived in Tehran on Monday to meet with his Iranian counterpart amid increasing calls for Washington to enlist Iran's help in calming the escalating violence in neighboring Iraq. "Talabani arrived in Tehran minutes ago as the head of a high-level delegation," Iran's state-run television reported. Iran has been trying to organize a summit joining President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Talabani and Syrian President Bashar Assad in a bid to assert its role as the top regional powerbroker. Talabani had planned to come to Tehran on Saturday but had to postpone his trip until Baghdad's airport, which was closed in a security clampdown, reopened Monday. Iranian officials have confirmed that an invitation was extended to Assad, but Syria has not responded. ... http://abcnews.go.com

At least 10 people were killed in a fire early Monday at a state-run group home for the mentally disabled in southwest Missouri, the state fire marshal said. At least 12 people were taken to hospitals from the Anderson Guest House south of Joplin, Fire Marshal Randy Cole said. Authorities believe about 35 people were in the home at the time, he said. The building was "very heavily damaged" before the fire was brought under control just before daylight, Cole said. The cause was under investigation, and names of the victims had not been released. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2681535

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused of snubbing Pope Benedict on his first official trip to a Muslim country, says he has agreed to meet the pontiff when he arrives in Ankara on Tuesday. The Turkish leader had initially said he could not meet the pope because of a scheduling conflict with the two-day NATO summit in Latvia which begins on Tuesday.Many saw the move as a snub in light of recent tensions following a controversial speech in Germany in which the pope quoted a 14th century emperor who said Prophet Mohammed's teachings were "evil and inhuman." But on Monday he reversed the decision, according to the Turkish government and the Vatican."The prime minister will meet the pope and an adjustment (in plans) has been made accordingly," government spokesman Akif Beki told Reuters in Ankara. Erdogan will meet the pope at Ankara's airport before he takes off for Riga, the news agency reported. ...http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/11/27/pope.turkey/index.html?eref=rss_world

On the day his honeymoon was to have started, Sean Bell’s memory & the manner of his death shot, unarmed, by police dominated the latest outcry against city officers’ use of deadly force. Several hundred people held a vigil for Bell on Sun, some shouting “No justice, no peace!” & demanding the ouster of Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. Kelly has said police shot at the car after it drove forward & struck an undercover officer & an unmarked police minivan. The information was based on interviews with witnesses & 2 officers who did not fire their weapons. However, Trini Wright, a dancer at the strip club where Bell’s bachelor party was held, told the Daily News she was going to a diner with the men & was putting her makeup bag in the trunk of their car when the police minivan appeared. “The minivan came around the corner & smashed into their car. And they (the police) jumped out shooting,” Wright, 28, told the newspaper for Monday editions. “No ’stop.’ No ’freeze.’ No nothing.”...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15918902/

A U.S. Air Force jet with one pilot on board crashed Monday in Anbar province, a hotbed of Iraq's Sunni-Arab insurgency, and a witness said other U.S. warplanes rushed to the crash site and circled above it. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani arrived for an official visit in Iran, where he is expected to seek its help in preventing Iraq's sectarian violence from sliding into an all-out civil war. His departure was delayed by a three-day curfew, which the government lifted on Monday. Meanwhile, as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki prepared for his summit meeting with President Bush this week in Jordan, Britain said it expects to withdraw thousands of its 7,000 military personnel from Iraq by the end of next year, and Poland and Italy announced the impending withdrawal of their remaining troops. The F-16CG jet was supporting coalition ground forces when it went down Monday afternoon in Anbar province, ...http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2006-11-27-iraq-jet_x.htm?csp=34

The state is preparing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the companies that worked on the Big Dig highway tunnel project, alleging their negligence led to the ceiling collapse that killed a woman, a spokesman said Monday.Attorney General Tom Reilly is seeking unspecified damages for repairs, loss of tunnel use and toll revenue and other economic factors, spokesman David Guarino confirmed Monday. The lawsuit was to be filed Monday or Tuesday, he said."This lawsuit is more than just about money, although we will be seeking monetary damages," Reilly told WBZ-AM earlier Monday. "What this case is has always been about is the tragic death of Milena Del Valle. That could have been any one of us."The lawsuit, to be filed in Suffolk Superior Court, alleges project manager Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff and Modern Continental Construction Co. were "grossly negligent" in constructing the ceiling that collapsed. ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/27/ap/national/mainD8LLFCKG0.shtml